Q&A: Jeff Unterreiner, Assurant Solutions

Assurant Solutions, a provider of powersports vehicle service contracts, has named Jeff Unterreiner as senior vice president of its extended protection solutions business. In his new role, Unterreiner has overall management responsibilities for the company’s extended service contract and vehicle service contract business.

Unterreiner shared his views on his role with Assurant, which designs and underwrites customized protection programs for dealers, third-party administrators and OEMs that are built to enhance revenue, maximize brand loyalty, minimize risk and increase the satisfaction of their customers.

How has your background prepared you to lead the service program business at Assurant Solutions?

“I began my career at Assurant as an intern in the sales department over 17 years ago. Those of us that have been part of this industry for a while have seen a lot of growth and change, so we’ve learned to be nimble and look ahead to the things that matter most to consumers and clients. Over time, Assurant Solutions has evolved from a private company with a focus on niche specialty insurance to a publicly held, worldwide leader in protection programs and services. Because we have such deep and broad experience, we’re able to use the insights we’ve gained to get a real handle on what’s coming next.”

How do you see the protection business evolving in the next five years in the retail space?

Jeff Unterreiner

“In the next five years, the protection business will witness an evolution of smart cars and auto connectivity. New technologies — including apps — will continue entering the auto and powersports marketplace with the goal of improving driver and rider experience and safety.

As vehicle electronics become more complex, the line between consumer electronics and vehicle electronics will continue to blur. Consumers expect the same quality access to entertainment and information as they do in at home, and the protection business will respond.

Assurant Solutions is already responding by helping consumers not only protect their powersports vehicles and their electronics, including Bluetooth systems. We’re an industry leader, and we will continue to grow our market leadership position in vehicle service contracts. We’ll do this by leveraging our core capabilities — managing risk and relationships with large distribution partners and offering multiple products to our clients — while identifying and adapting to evolving market needs.”

What makes Assurant Solutions a good choice for consumers to protect their powersports vehicles?

“Assurant Solutions is the best choice for consumers to protect their vehicles because we understand the consumer. In the past 40 years, we’ve developed deep insight about consumer behavior and what makes protection programs work. We also work in close partnership with dealers and manufacturers to enhance their customer’s ownership experience.”

What makes Assurant Solutions the best choice as a partner for dealers?

“Assurant Solutions has become the protection program partner of choice for worldwide industry leaders. Our industry experience, analytic insight and administrative capabilities allow us to develop customized solutions for clients that maximize their profitability and build lifetime customer loyalty.

We partner with networks of dealers, third-party administrators and OEMs in the Vehicle Service Contract industry to develop customized protection programs for their customers.

Our products and services are custom-designed to suit our partners’ needs, which really helps to create the seamless brand experience today’s consumers are looking for. Our online mobile and web-based tools enable dealers to manage plans and handle claims efficiently. At Assurant Solutions, we believe in being transparent with our client partners. We can provide customized data files and electronic reports that adhere to our client’s requirements. This includes, but is not limited to, contract activity, sales penetration, financial, loss trend analysis and claims. We support multiple data transfer technologies with varying levels of cryptography (based on the request of each business partner) and have a team dedicated to support this function. We do this to ensure that our client partners can provide their customers with the peace of mind that comes with a solid protection program.”